BBQ Crew - quick tips for tastier food?

[Marcos]

Nothing fancy, just decent basic tips for a beginner to BBQing. Like, i heard i should buy a basting brush, but i wouldnt know what to use it with.

[Clunk]

Hoi sin sauce is always a winner.

and an umberella

[RavenNight]

I find cooking stuff like chicken in the oven first then finishing them on the BBQ means they cook much quicker and there is a much lower risk of food poinsoning!

[TeePee]

Thats the most important tip. If you are new to the BBQ definitely cook all your chicken in the oven first, even chicken breasts, then bung them on the grill to give tham the BBQ taste and some nice lines. Generic BBQ sauce makes a great marinade thats really easy.

Steaks are pretty easy, depending on how burnt you want them. Pork ribs, again, cook them in the oven first. just to make it easier.
It might seem like extra work, but your guests won't be pleased if they bite into a semi-burnt drumstick to find it raw inside...

[dave87]

I usually marinate any chicken etc in a bbq sauce before cooking, then either start it on the bbq and finish in the oven, or the otherway round.

Otherwise keep rotating the sausages, otherwise you will soon end up with something you can write with (not good, trust me). Beef Burgers, if you give them a light coat of oil before putting them on the bbq they are much less likely to stick. Brush wise - use a pastry brush if you've got one, just dont use it to clean the bbq afterwards.....

The last & most important part for the chef of a bbq is a continuous source of beer - it can get quite roasty standing in front of a bbq

[Funkstar]

you don't want to BBQ with flames, wait until the coals are really hot but the flames are down.

Lighter fuel may start the fire quickly, but makes the food taste of lighter fuel if you use loads (yuck!)

light the fire well well before you want to use it. they take ages to get to the right temperature.

it's really easy to buy and cook far too much food so you probably don't need as much as you think you do.

[grizzla]

I got one of those weber BBQ's, all im saying is get urself a whole chicken, either marinade in hoi sin or stuff with lemon onion and garlic then put on a tray cover in foil and place on the BBQ lovely flavour and cooked through in about an 60-80 mins. After 50 mins cookin remove foil to ensure the skin gets the BBQ flavour and crispiness. Also my dad has done a rack of beef rib on it, beautiful.

[Marcos]

I can't pre-cook the meat in an oven cause i'ts going to be a beach bbq

[johnny02004976]

Originally Posted by Marcos

I can't pre-cook the meat in an oven cause i'ts going to be a beach bbq

mate if its a beach bbq stick to simple things - things which you cant really mess up. For a first time bbq and away from the safe haven of your kitchen maybe its best to stay away with chicken.

Are you using a real bbq or those disposable things??

[atrull]

marinade for a few hours - anything can be marinaded marinading keeps the moisture in so the food is still quite edible

[frumpet]

Rotation and the height of the grill are key when cooking on a BBQ. If the meat is too close to the coals then you'll brown/burn the outside quickly without thoroughly cooking the inside of the meat, leaving it pink and giving you the chance of food poisoning.

Having a small sharp knife nearby is handy as you can easily make a small cut to see whether the core is cooked through. As always you want to be looking for clear juices running out of the meat. If there is still blood running out of the meat when you've made an incision then its definitely not cooked enough.

Having an ample supply of beer for the "chef" is definitely another BBQ must.

Good luck as well if your BBQ-ing for the first time with a disposable. They're usually a lot more hassle compared with a proper BBQ with charcoal.

[Rhyth]

Get tongs, they rock, seriously do it bro. tong tip: a short pair is handy aswell as having a long pair.

Possably a wind breaker these can come in handy should the wind prove tricky, just don't get it too close to the bbq itself hey.

A rubbish bag, as you don't want all the waste (bottles, cans, packaging etc) to be left on the beach

Happy beach bbq'ing matey

[Zak33]

chciken and bbq.....safest way....dice it and get kebab skewers

small bits= quicker cook, safer.

Courgette and tomato slices in between....drizzle with oil

job, as they say..is a good 'un

[Rave]

If there's any doubt about food safety, stick with beef steaks and lamb chops- costly, but unless you let them sit for hours and hours at inside-of-a-car temperatures they won't poison you however much or little you cook them (do 'em rare FTW, obviously).

Sausages, burgers, kebabs etc. should be fine, but still be careful- the worst case of the squits I ever had was from underdone barbecue sausages. I ended up not eating for two days because I was on holiday and didn't want to miss out on valuable clubbing time. Managed to snog a fine bird too despite not having eaten for 36 hours.....

[Marcos]

Originally Posted by atrull

marinade for a few hours - anything can be marinaded marinading keeps the moisture in so the food is still quite edible

Marinade in what? Can i buy ready-made marinade jar? I dont even know if marinade is a process or the name of the sauce

[dave87]

Originally Posted by Marcos

Marinade in what? Can i buy ready-made marinade jar? I dont even know if marinade is a process or the name of the sauce

Marinade is a process, but you can buy jars of sticky bbq sauce (or thats what I use anyhow..) to use